


The Wolf in Hiding

by Ladyhawk_lhflu



Series: The Two Sides of the Moon [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alpha Remus Lupin, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-11-02 06:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20653994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyhawk_lhflu/pseuds/Ladyhawk_lhflu
Summary: During *the discussion* of Remus's other side, Sirius and James begin to understand what is hiding behind the amber eyes.





	The Wolf in Hiding

**Author's Note:**

> My Bijou wanted Marauder's Era. Well, here's Marauder's Era. I intend to string this along like my Alpha series for SGA. It may end up closer to today later down the string.

Sirius knew the look on his friend's face all too well. He had seen it many times when he looked in the mirror in his bedroom at Grimmauld Place. The panicked, fearful expression of someone who has no recourse but to submit to unwanted pain.

Remus started to tremble as he watched. The blond boy didn't seem to hear the whispers James sent his way. "Calm down, Remus. It's ok. We're not going to tell anyone."

Remus curled up on his bed. Tears shone in his eyes. The trembling overtook his whole body. "I'll go," he wailed softly. "Please just leave me alone."

"No," Sirius said softly as he climbed in the bed next to Remus. "The full moon is tomorrow night. You can't face the moon like this. Your wolf will tear you apart. James found a book about werewolves in the Restricted section. We know how hard it is for you."

"It said the more upset you are right before the moon, the more the wolf rages," Peter muttered around a piece of Honeyduke's chocolate as he sat on the floor next to Remus's bed. 

James slapped the bar our of Peter's hand with a quick snap of his wrist. "That's for Remus. You have two bars in your trunk!"

Sirius grabbed the bar from where it fell and broke off a small piece for the trembling boy beside him. "Please, Remus, you have to calm down. The wolf already rages too much. Last month you were gone for four days!"

Remus shook his head when Sirius waved the piece of confection in front of him. "I'll throw it up."

Sirius looked offended until James rolled his eyes at him. "He's too upset to eat, you idiot." The new Quidditch seeker climbed in the bed on Remus's other side and rubbed his shoulder. "Are we the only ones who know?" he asked Remus. Sirius thought James might be trying to copy the tone Sirius had heard from Mrs. Potter when she first saw the letters Sirius received from his own mother. If so, he needed more practice. He sounded like he was whining instead of being soothing.

But it seemed to calm some of the young lycanthrope's trembling. "Y-you're the only students who know," Remus whispered as he stared at each of them, one after the other. Sirius was sure that the other boy was trying to figure out why he hadn't been beaten to a pulp yet.

"We'll make sure it stays that way." Sirius shifted so he could wrap an arm around the tawny haired boy. He put the chocolate on the windowsill next to the bed. Then he pulled Remus up so that his head fell on Sirius's shoulder.

Remus tried to pull away, but James put a hand on his chest to keep him where he was. "We promise, Remus. Nobody else will know. Just relax."

Sirius looked up at James as Remus slowly stopped trembling. James nodded at him and moved back to let Sirius wrap around the werewolf more securely.

A few tears dripped on his arm. That just made Sirius clutch Remus a little tighter. "It's ok, Moon-boy. We're going to help."

James shuddered for a second. "I told you before, you're not allowed to make up names for things, or people! You're awful at it, you prat."

Remus let out a watery chuckle at that. "It's the truth."

"The truth doesn't have to be so sodding obvious," James complained. He glared at Sirius. "If we call him that, somebody will figure it out."

A moment later, Remus reached out to touch Sirius's hair. Sirius was letting it grow, in defiance of his parents' wishes. He had caught Remus staring at it a few times. When he had asked if there was something wrong with it, Remus had shaken his head vehemently. "I like the curls," he said shyly. "And it sort of glows in candlelight."

Sirius only pretended to be an egotistical prick most days. So he had found himself blushing at the compliment. Now, however, he gave James a smug look. "He moons over my hair. He's a moon-boy."

James rolled his eyes but a moment later seemed to agree. "He moons over books too."

"He's very moony when he's in Honeyduke's," Peter added.

"I don't mean to be moony," Remus muttered. "I just get that way when I like something."

"You're just Moony," Sirius said, this time looking to James for approval. The bespectacled boy nodded. "Just Moony."

Remus appeared to accept his new nickname with a bit of stoicism and a light blush. But a big yawn spoiled his look of resolve, and turned it into vulnerability.

James had seen that look on the dark-haired boy's face too many times. He had hurt for Sirius each and every instance. It was just as tough seeing it on Remus, if not more so. Because he could fight Walburga Black's nasty words. But how could you fight a wolf?

The best they could do was help him prepare. James tried to shoo Sirius off the bed so Remus could sleep. But Sirius shook his head. "Nightmares," he mouthed out of Remus's sight. 

James nodded. He had heard them each month before the full moon too. So he watched as Sirius pulled the covers over Remus and himself. Remus didn't protest, not even for a second. James wondered at that, especially when Remus looked towards him. The other boy's eyes had turned completely amber, instead of their normal soft hazel. They had read in the werewolf book that the eye color was a sign that the wolf was in charge at that moment.

The book had stated rather emphatically (in big block red letters) that anyone in the vicinity of the werewolf was in danger when that occurred. It suggested running as fast as you could and locking any doors behind you. But James wasn't inclined to run. Even Peter was calm. Because it was just Remus in front of them. It was just Moony.

James knew there had to have been times that they didn't realize the wolf was in charge. But they had never been hurt. It might explain Remus snapping at odd things from time to time. Still, he never went beyond snapping. Sometimes he startled himself. Sometimes he walked away. But James was sure Remus never gave into the beast inside him.

Right now, the beast just seemed to study them. James didn't know if the wolf had a voice, or if it could even understand speech. But he knew he had to make contact with it at that moment. Because if they were going to take care of their friend, they had to show respect to his other side. 

So James ran a hand gently down the lycanthrope's back, as if he were petting the wolf. He urged Sirius and Peter to do the same with a look. The wolf preened as he was petted by all three of them. Remus's face took on a haughty air, similar to the one the Blacks had. But the wolf's didn't seem false or demeaning. The wolf just appeared to expect respect.

"His wolf is an Alpha." James whispered in Sirius's ear.

Sirius nodded. "He's like a king. So we should be his loyal subjects today and tomorrow," he whispered back. "It'll keep the wolf calm."

James bristled a bit at the idea of bowing down to anyone. But he knew it was necessary to keep Remus from spending too long in the infirmary after the moon. Someone had to be the loyal subject.

He watched as Sirius arranged Remus's pillow just so under the dirty blond hair. Apparently the wolf already had a loyal subject. That was fine. A king also needed guards. *That* James could handle without flinching. And Peter...well, he'd make a decent house elf, if nothing else.

Remus came back to himself with a gasp. He knew what had just happened. He knew his friends realized he had lost control for a minute. "I-I'm sorry," he murmured into his pillow.

"For what, Moony?" James and Sirius asked, almost simultaneously. 

They asked so calmly that Remus stared at them in shock. Even Peter, the most nervous one of the group, just reached for the chocolate on the windowsill and waved it in front of Remus's face. "Can you eat some now? Chocolate makes you happy. That should help you, right?"

Remus nodded as he took the candy from Peter. But before he could pop it in his mouth, Sirius gently took the piece and slid it between Remus's lips. "Whatever you need, Moony. We can handle your other side when he's still in your skin. We can't go near you during the change. But we will help you prepare. And we will help you recover."

James heard a catch in Sirius's voice. And he knew why. James had pretty much said those words to Sirius when the other boy had gone back to London for a weekend in October. Sirius's beasts were outside himself. Remus's beast was internal. Oddly enough, Remus's other side seemed a hell of lot easier to handle than Sirius's parents, at least before the curse took complete control.

James knew they would have to learn about the damage the wolf did during the moon. Remus had hid all of it that he could. But it wasn't necessary anymore. James reached under the bed draped with thicker curtains, so Sirius didn't have to endure the sunlight if he came back to school after a night of being locked in the basement of Grimmauld Place. He grabbed the box of bandages, salves and potions they used on Sirius after such occasions. Then he walked over to Remus and opened it. "Do we need to get more, or is this set enough for both of you?"

"It'll be good for this month. I'm not sure about next month, though." Remus looked at James worriedly.

James just shrugged. "We'll get more before next month then."

Sirius stroked the lycanthrope's hair. Remus yawned again and settled against the other boy as his eyes turned amber once again. Sirius looked Remus in the eye, then lowered his gaze slowly. The wolf nodded approvingly, then let the hazel reappear before Remus fell asleep.

"That's risky, mate," James whispered once he was sure Remus wouldn't wake. "You don't know what the wolf wants."

"He wants to quit hiding," Sirius replied. "And he can, in here for a little while."

James nodded, but then looked to the fifth bed in the room, which was empty due to an accident in potions class earlier that day. "Just be careful of Frank. He's a nice person, but he's not quite one of us."

"He's not one of Moony's Protectors."

"Quit naming! Watch over Moony. I'll think of a better name for us in the morning." James pulled the curtain to hide the two boys from the rest of the room, then left them to get some sleep.

On the other side of the curtain, Sirius had just fallen asleep. But amber eyes glowed in the darkness, and a strong hand ran through inky black curls. It was probably best nobody could see how the wolf had transformed his alter ego's face at that moment. The look of possessiveness was so clear that it would've made Poppy Pomfrey step back.


End file.
